CEO Challenges in the Gulf Region

Four of the five top challenges selected by the 729 global respondents to The Conference Board CEO Challenge Survey® for 2013—Human Capital, Operational Excellence, Innovation, and Customer Relationships—showed executives’ determination to “control the controllable” and prime their organizations for the slow-growth slog ahead. While agreeing on the importance of Human Capital and Customer Relationships to fuel growth, CEOs in the GCC region reported a significantly different set of priorities than did CEOs globally; they are looking at contrasting strategies that reflect the unique business environment challenges of a resource-rich and energy-dependent region.